1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to metal picket fences that are packaged and sold as a collection of pre-fabricated parts for assembly by the consumer. More specifically, the present invention provides an improved fence that offers a variety of aesthetic styles in one convenient package, and is adaptable to placement on sloped, as well as flat, terrain.
2. Description of the Related Art
Metal picket fences are well known. They consist of a number of vertical members, called xe2x80x9cpickets,xe2x80x9d secured to at least two horizontal supports to form a panel. A number of these panels are then secured together with posts that are anchored in the ground or other suitable mounting surface. Picket fences are typically used as protective barriers around private properties, swimming pools, gardens and the like, and may include decorative features. One type that has been popular for many years is constructed of wrought iron components that are welded together. This type of fence is typically constructed and installed by a skilled artisan. For this reason, they are usually quite expensive.
More recently, a less costly type of picket fence has emerged. This type of picket fence is constructed of a collection of pre-fabricated components that are packaged and sold through retail outlets. The components are designed to be easily put together by the average xe2x80x9cdo-it-yourselfxe2x80x9d type of consumer. Like the welded variety, this type of fence also serves as an effective barrier to unwanted guests and may also be aesthetically pleasing.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,218,953 to Gustafson discloses an adjustable grade iron fence. The fence comprises vertical pickets of channel shaped or square cross-section held in position and in spaced relation by horizontal upper and lower rails. Each picket includes two horizontal slots across one vertical face, the position of each slot corresponding to the positions of the upper and lower rails. The upper and lower rails are identical, each including space to accommodate a locking member that is driven between the side walls of the rails and the slots on the pickets. Because the bottom surface of each rail comprises an open channel, and the slots in the pickets are larger than the locking member, the pickets remain parallel to one another while the rails are translated along their longitudinal axes in opposite directions. This feature enables the fence to be installed on sloped ground, because the posts and pickets remain vertical even when the rails are slanted from the horizontal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,548 to Moore discloses a picket fence that is very similar to the Gustafson structure. The Moore structure includes tubular pickets of square cross-section having a pair of horizontal slots along one face, upper and lower horizontal rails that hold the pickets in spaced relation, and a coupling bar that nests between the rail side wall and the picket slots to lock the pickets in place.
Another patent to Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,935, discloses a structure similar to the ""548 patent. The pickets and rails of the ""935 patent, however, are secured to one another with screws instead of a coupling bar. Also, decorative caps may optionally be installed over the upper ends of the pickets.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,244, to Gibbs discloses a rolled metal fence rail incorporated into a picket fence that includes two or more such rails. Each rail is formed from a single metal sheet rolled to enclose an upside down and generally U-shaped channel. A space between the top and bottom walls of the rails forms a relatively narrow raceway to restrict vertical movement of the pickets when they are mounted on the retaining rods. The rails generally have openings in a top wall that are slightly larger than the cross-section of the picket passing therethrough, and an opening in a bottom wall whose transverse dimension is substantially equal to that of the picket passing therethrough, but whose longitudinal dimension exceeds that of the picket.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,256, to Hebda discloses a picket fence arrangement having tubular pickets of triangular cross-section. Three notches are cut at two different lengthwise positions along each picket, one notch being located at each corner of the triangular cross-section. The rails have spaced triangular openings adapted to slidably receive the pickets. With the notches on a picket positioned at the rail openings, the picket is rotatable so that the notches engage the straight edges of the triangular openings in the rail and prevent relative translation of the picket and rail. A locking rod inserted within each rail cooperates with a bore in each picket to prevent the pickets from rotating.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,376,150, to Miller discloses a joint lock for use in connecting bars to rails. The rails of the ""150 patent are of a two-piece construction, having an outer tubular member provided with a slot on one side and perforations on another side. The perforations are adapted to receive vertical bars, each end of which is provided with a head formed by providing a pair of transverse grooves in opposite sides of the bar. The bars are secured to the outer tubular member by an inner tubular member, or locking member, which is slidably insertable within the outer tubular member. The locking member includes two spaced slots adapted to engage the grooves in the bar and lockingly engage the bars to hold them within the outer tubular member.
A drawback to these prior art designs is that each fence only offers one outward appearance. The Gustafson patent, for example, discloses pickets that have pointed top ends, while the pickets disclosed in the Moore patent have flat top ends. And, in each of these designs, all pickets extend a uniform distance above the top rail. Further, these fences, and every other fence in the prior art, may only be set up one way, so that a consumer who wants his fence to look one particular way has to search until he finds that fence. No prior art suggests a single pre-packaged fence that may be set up in a variety of ways to adopt a variety of appearances.
The picket fence of this invention has several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims that follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled xe2x80x9cDetailed Description of the Drawings,xe2x80x9d one will understand how the features of this invention provide advantages, which include the capability to be set up in a variety of ways to display a variety of aesthetic styles, ease of manufacture and assembly, low cost, and adaptability to terrain of varying slope.
The picket fence is constructed of a number of substantially vertical pickets that are secured by upper and lower rails. The pickets are preferably constructed of hollow tubes having a substantially square cross-section. In one preferred embodiment, each picket includes at least two spaced notches or indentations. The notches or indentations may be in the same picket face or in oppositely facing picket faces. The notches are preferably located on the picket such that the distance from a first end of the picket to the first notch is greater than the distance from a second end of the picket to the second notch. Preferably, each side of the notches is V-shaped, so that the center portion of the notch is narrowest, with the notch becoming gradually wider toward either edge.
In another preferred embodiment, the notches are replaced by through-holes. Again, the holes may be in the same face, or in opposite faces. In another preferred embodiment, a first pair of holes in oppositely facing picket faces is located at a first position along the length of the picket, and a second pair of holes in the same picket faces is located at a second position along the length of the picket. The spacing of the hole positions is preferably as described above with respect to the notches or indentations.
The rails preferably have a hollow interior defining a substantially I-shaped cross-section including a pair of oppositely disposed upper slots and a pair of oppositely disposed lower slots. The exterior of the rails may or may not mimic the I-shaped cross-section of the interior. An upper surface of the rail contains spaced openings having a shape similar to the cross-section of the pickets, but of slightly larger dimensions. A lower surface of the rail contains a channel running in a longitudinal direction along the rail, and having a width at least as wide as the width of each opening.
In one preferred embodiment, a first retaining rod is slidable within the upper rail to cooperate with the upper notch or indentation in each picket to secure the pickets to the upper rail. A second retaining rod is similarly slidable within the lower rail to cooperate with the lower notch or indentation in each picket to secure the pickets to the lower rail. The rod may have one of a wide range of cross-sections including circular, oval, square and L-shaped, depending upon the shape and size of the picket notch or indentation.
In another preferred embodiment, the pickets are secured to the rails with spring clips. A pin on either side of the spring clip protrudes through the holes on opposite sides of the picket and projects into the rail channel to prevent vertical movement of the picket. In another preferred embodiment, screws, bolts, rivets or other suitable members are driven through the side of the rail channel to cooperate with the holes in the picket and secure the picket to the rail.
Because the rails are invertible, and because the picket notches are not evenly spaced from their respective ends, the fence is easily convertible by the consumer into a variety of aesthetic styles. In one configuration, the upper and lower rails are oriented channel-side-down, and a first end of each picket points upward, such that each picket protrudes a distance x from the upper surface of the upper rail, and each picket also protrudes a distance y from the lower surface of the lower rail, wherein y greater than x.
In another configuration, the upper and lower rails are oriented channel-side-down, and a second end of each picket points upward, such that each picket protrudes a distance y from the upper surface of the upper rail, and each picket also protrudes a distance x from the lower surface of the lower rail, wherein y greater than x.
In another configuration, the upper and lower rails are oriented channel-side-down, and a first end of some pickets points upward, such that each of these pickets protrude a distance x from the upper surface of the upper rail, and a distance y from the lower surface of the lower rail, and a second end of the remaining pickets points upward, such that each of these pickets protrude a distance y from the upper surface of the upper rail, and a distance x from the lower surface of the lower rail, wherein y greater than x. In this configuration, the pickets may be arranged in a wide variety of patterns wherein some pickets protrude further from the upper rail than others. These patterns may include alternating tall and short pickets, alternating pairs of tall and short pickets, two tall pickets followed by one short picket followed by two more tall pickets, and so on.
In each of the above configurations, decorative finials may be placed upon the upper end of each picket, or upon the upper end of only select pickets, providing the fence with another configuration. The finials may be adapted to slidably fit around the outside or within the interior of the pickets. Instead of decorative finials, flat plugs may be inserted into the upper end of the pickets.
In another configuration, the upper rail is oriented channel-side-up, the lower rail is oriented channel-side-down, and a first end of each picket points upward, such that no picket protrudes from the upper surface of the upper rail, and each picket protrudes a distance y from the lower surface of the lower rail. In this configuration, an elongate cap may fit over the lower portion of the upper rail, thereby enclosing the channel and providing a smooth, continuous upper surface for the fence.
In each of the above configurations the retaining rod, clip, screw or other holding member is disposed within one of the upper slots. The member may also be disposed within one of the lower slots, which provides the fence with a further variety of configurations as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty that characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.